Heather K (dentist in my spare time)'s Reviews > Anything for a Dollar

*3.5 stars*

Readers, don't be fooled by that ugly cover: This is a well written, nicely edited collection of erotic M/M shorts. They vary from the very vanilla to the very kinky, and there is a wide range of genres- historical, paranormal, mystery, contemporary... you name it, this collection has it. Some of these are stories are amazing and some are duds (my rating is the numerical average) but I really enjoyed this collection.

"In the Studio," by Max Reynolds- 4 stars
Awesome, sensual, atmospheric erotica. This was weirdly romantic for a story that is pretty impersonal, but there are some strikingly meaningful moments there. Basically, a college student starts modeling nude for some cash and uses it as an outlet to explore some of his fantasies. The dynamic between him and the photographer felt charged and meaningful. A really sexy, interesting story.

"The Adventure of the Ragged Youth" by Aaron Travis- 5 stars
Oh. My. Effing. God. Sherlock Holmes gone dirty! Picture Holmes and Watson double teaming an 18 year old. Now picture it with dirty talk. Exactly...

"Private Dance in Rio" by Jay Starre- 3 stars
Well, this was a gang bang story, literally. A sexy Brazilian stripper gets nailed by a bunch of gang members and I saw my first book (view spoiler)[double penetration (hide spoiler)] scene. Hot, but has some of my biggest pet peeves. This author needs to cut out all exclamation marks. I hate them 95% of the time and there was no need for them in this story. It made a hot scene morph into something cartoonish.

"The Last Goodbye" by Jeffrey Ricker- 4 stars
Really interesting and beautiful story about a psychic sex surrogate, whose clients' past loves inhabit his body for a short while. This was way deeper and more moving than I had expected. Really well done.

"Penthouse" by Jeff Mann-3 stars
Strange writing style but some HOT BDSM scenes. This is pretty hard core stuff, with (view spoiler)[water sports, caning, humiliation (hide spoiler)] but it is also incredibly sweet, almost to the point of sappy. I liked it and I had a great emotional connection to the characters.

"Paris Euros Giles" by Davem Verne- 1 star
I hated this one. Super strange story about a 5'3" male model (wha???) that wasn't sexy, wasn't believable, and was hard to finish, even being a short story. Way worse than the rest of the collection thus far.

"Revenge of the 97 Pound Weakling" by Rob Rosen- 3 stars
The MC in this one is a major douche, banging muscular guys as sort of a revenge fantasy for the bullies he lusted after as a child. Hot in a twisted way, a good story if you don't mind hating the MC.

"Haven's Rest" by Nathan Sims- 2.5 stars
Not bad, just disjointed and a bit strange. A ghostbuster visits a gay rehab ranch and trouble and sexual tension ensues. I sort of liked it but I was happy when it was over.

"Gigolo lessons" by Jay Starre- 2 stars
This could have been way better but the sex scenes weren't hot and, again, there were too many exclamation marks (!!!). This author needs to edit his scenes and really work on making them more erotic and less cartoonish.

"Marked" by Haley Walsh- 3 stars
I liked it, I think, but that ending was weird. It reminded me a little of Bone Deep, which is far superior and deeper, but this was still interesting and strangely sexy.

"The Conductor" by Luke Oliver- 5 stars
Loved this so hard! It was geeky and funny and sexy... just awesome! It really also helps that the guy in this one did the exact commute that my husband does. I've ridden that late train out of NYC countless times. I'll be looking for more from this author in the future.

"Debtors' Prison" by William Holden- 4.5 stars
Holy. God. This was a non-con/dub-con prison bitch story where a man's wife essentially sells him to pay off his debts. It was kind of historical and silly but HOT as hell. If you are into dirty talk and dub-con, this story is for you. It was so wrong it was right.

"A Few Dollars More" by Dale Chase- 3.5 stars
Super hot cowboy, western/historical story involving a rent boy and lots and lots of sex. Almost no plot, just the rent boy getting it on with everyone in town, including our hung cowboy. Smoking!

"Holiday" by Felice Picano- 3 stars
Cute and vaguely autobiographical seeming, I liked this New Year's Eve story. It was a short one, only a few pages long, but it had a complete story, A-hole boyfriend included. A nice addition to the collection.

"Pity Fuck" by Lawrence Schimel- 4 stars
This one was ultra short, too, but I adored it. It is the kind of story we don't often see in gay romance or gay erotica: The ugly guy. I loved how everything changed for the MC during the course of the story. It was powerful, but had the least amount of sex content in the series. I would have loved to see "Ugly Hustler" getting it on.

"Anything for a Dollar" by Greg Herren- 3 stars
A nice sweaty stripper story but with sort of a bitter, downer vibe. I thought it was mildly sexy and well written, but it wasn't as exciting as some of the other stories. A pleasant ending to a hot, varied collection.

**Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**